Recent data from the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) on formal sector employees’ wages has revealed that a significant 35 percent of workers earn less than RM2,000 a month.
The data also showed that the median wage does not increase much as one gets older. For those below 20 years old earning a median wage of RM1,500 a month, the maximum is at RM3,500 between ages 45 and 49 as of March 2023. This means that not only do most Malaysians earn below RM2,000 a month, the salaries never go higher than around RM3,500 throughout their lifetime.
According to the data, the number of formal sector employees earning below RM2,000 a month was over 2.2 million as of March 2023, followed by those earning between RM2,000 RM2,999 at around 1.3 million people.
On the opposite end of the scale, there were about 29,800 employees earning between RM14,000 and RM14,999 a month while those earning RM15,000 and above a month totalled around 337,800 people.
Meanwhile, the statistics show that median wages for formal sector employees below the age of 20 had risen from RM1,200 in March 2022 to RM1,500 in March 2023. However, the highest median wage by age was in December 2022, where those aged between 45 and 49 had a median salary of RM3,782.
This number went down to RM3,500 by March 2023. For the same age group, the lowest median wage was in February 2022 at RM3,189.
Low wages and slow increases of income at the bottom-end impacts consumption. The progressive wage model proposed by the Economy Minister has to be seriously looked at if consumption is to drive the economy. We need both investment and consumption to push our GDP above 6% p.a. That’s the plan for us to be in the top 30 economies of the world.
Reference:
Most M’sians earn under RM2k monthly – DOSM, Malaysiakini, 4 August 2023
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